


Opposites Attract

by smaragdbird



Category: The Terror (TV 2018)
Genre: Bitching about your ex, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, M/M, past Hickey/Gibson - Freeform, re-watching Terror and realising that these two are actually friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-14 01:00:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29410872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smaragdbird/pseuds/smaragdbird
Summary: After the lashing, Hickey and Hartnell are given some light duty in the hold.The laudanum makes Hickey talkative.
Relationships: Thomas Hartnell/Cornelius Hickey
Kudos: 10
Collections: The Terror Rarepair Week 2021





	Opposites Attract

“He said what?” Hartnell looks outraged on his behalf which is a nice change of pace compared to what has happened lately.

Also the laudanum Doctor McDonald gave him to deal with the pain from the lashing helps. He doesn’t like how it makes him feel but it’s better than the pain. It’s also probably why he confided in Hartnell. 

“Why’s he still on the ship then?” Hartnell asks. He looks flushed from anger, it’s kind of cute. Billy runs cold when he’s angry, not hot. There’s no passion in him.

Fuck Billy. 

Which he already did. And he kind of misses it. Billy may be a spineless, lying coward but he’s a spectacular lay.

“Cornelius?” 

Addled as his mind is, it takes him a moment to realise that Hartnell’s talking to him. Cornelius is such a stupid, pretentious name. He should’ve checked that before stabbing the stupid boy. Fucking Irish can’t have normal names.

“What?” He tries to focus on Hartnell. They’re supposed to do inventory down in the stores for Irving but it has turned into this instead.

“Why do you think Gibson’s still on the ship?” Hartnell’s cute, not as tall as Billy, but cute. And it’s nice to talk to him, almost as if they are friends. 

He’s never had a friend before.

He shrugs in regard to Hartnell’s question. “Maybe he wants Irving to see how brave he is staying here in my company.”

Hartnell nods as if that makes sense. Maybe it does. Who knows what’s going in Billy’s head these day, not him, that’s for sure. “He’s an arsehole.”

He nods. It’s nice to hear it from someone else. Hell, it’s nice someone else knows the truth. Maybe he’s underestimated this whole ‘honesty’ thing in the past.

“Especially since you were right about Irving. He wouldn’t have said anything. He’s not like that. My brother – “As always when Hartnell mentions his brother, his voice catches in his throat. He reaches out and squeezes his knee reassuringly. In return Hartnell gives him a brave smile and continues, “– he served under Irving before this expedition. That’s why we joined this one. Irving’s not a bad guy, but he’s trusting and Gibson has Peglar and Hodgson to vouch for him.”

That’s a whole different can of worms that used to keep him awake at night. Still does. Peglar’s a nice guy, not above teaching a guy who’s pretending to be a sailor, but Hodgson’s eyes used to follow Billy around. Still do. Well, he can have him. Let him be happy with the piece of maggot pie.

He turns his head and looks at Hartnell. “You wouldn’t have done that.”

“Of course not!” Hartnell looks outraged that he would even think that. “Besides, Irving wouldn’t have caught us.”

“No?”

“No.” Hartnell’s eyes are very blue. He’s never noticed that before. Billy’s eyes are blue like the sky, Hartnell’s are more like the sea. 

“Why not?” He asks. His hand it still on Hartnell’s knee. It helps to keep him stable while perching on the crates that Hartnell can sit on because he wasn’t punished as a boy. That still rankles. He’ll get Crozier for that one of these days.

“I’m cleverer than Gibson”, Hartnell says, a smug smile on his slips. It’s a good look on him. 

When he doesn’t reply, Hartnell turns to him, their eyes meeting.

“What?”

He still says nothing, only gazes at Hartnell’s lips, looks further down, shakes his head with a smile on his lips, before glancing back up from under his lashes.

Kiss me, he thinks, willing Hartnell to do it. Kiss me.

He never takes the first step. He’s learned early on how dangerous that can be.

Hartnell’s lips part. His breath seems to come quicker. His eyes drop down to his lips and then he leans in slowly. 

Finally, he thinks and meets Hartnell half-way. 

A first kiss is never as good as it can be, but it’s nice even though the laudanum has killed his appetite for sex. Some men never kiss those they fuck. Too intimate for business conducted in dark alleyways for a few coins.

Hartnell kisses like he wants to know him. He’s cupping his face with his hand, fingers wound into the strands of his hair. It almost feels like a greeting of some sorts.

He’s never been kissed like this before. 

Billy and he hadn’t kissed until shortly before the end. They had had sex first and build everything else on top of that. He doesn’t want to think about Billy anymore.

Instead, he deepens the kiss, rests his free hand on the back of Hartnell’s neck, the other still on his knee, but he doesn’t push upwards. Sex can wait.

Eventually they do end the kiss, both of them breathing hard. 

“Mr Hickey”, Hartnell says. The smile that lights his face is warm and feels like a secret shared only between the two of them.

It makes him want to smile back.

“Mr Hartnell”, he echoes. He can feel the smile tugging at his lips. He also wants to kiss Hartnell again. “Promise you won’t let us be caught?” He asks, already leaning in again.

“Promise”, Hartnell murmurs, kissing his smiling mouth once more.


End file.
